Pilot 'Suicidal' Before Crash Near German Parliament

BERLIN – The pilot who died when his ultralight plane crashed near the German parliament was questioned over the disappearance of his wife and expressed "suicidal intentions" before the flight, officials said Saturday.

The small plane crashed onto a lawn and burst into flames close to parliament and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's (search) office on Friday evening. No one else was hurt and officials quickly ruled out a terrorist attack.

The pilot was identified as a 39-year-old father of two from Erkner (search), a town southeast of Berlin in the state of Brandenburg.

Colleagues of the man's wife had reported her missing on Monday after she failed to show for work, said state police spokesman Roland Kamenz (search).

The man, whose name was not given, was questioned Friday, Kamenz said.

Later, the man took his 14-year-old son to a nearby airfield and the pair took off in the ultralight. The man then landed, dropped off the boy, and set off on his fatal flight toward Berlin, Kamenz said.

A spokesman for the city government, Martin Steltner, said the man gave his car keys and personal documents to his son and "expressed suicidal intentions."

While the man's wife is officially missing, "It is also possible that she has been the victim of a violent crime," Kamenz said.